Melancholia
I first became interested in Melancholia after Lars Von Trier made some waves in the news when he spoke about relating to Nazis, and wanting to give Hitler a big old feel-good bear hug... Or something.
I caught a showing of it at the Angelika theater in New York, and after viewing it I feel surprisingly spry. For a movie called Melancholia, it left me in a rather good mood. But for all the wrong reasons. Let me try to explain.
The film opens with a lavish, flashy, all slow motion series of shots as the audience witnesses our world smashing into another (larger) world. While I wasn't completely enthralled with what I saw, I was not snoozing either, so all was well. The movie then begins the first half which revolves around Justine (Kirtsten Dunst) as she attempts to get married.
This entire first half is filled with incredible acting talent playing characters that are complete assholes. My primary problem with the entire movie in fact, is that everyone is so mind numbingly stupid, that I completely lost interest in the film halfway through "Justine's" chapter. This wedding is for Justine. As the movie progresses, it seems that it is no secret that Justine has a problem. Depression seems to wash over her, even in what should probably be her happiest moments. I remind you that this seems to be common knowledge, at least to the closest members of the family. Keeping that in mind, can someone explain to me why the hell everyone is so utterly disappointed in her actions during the wedding when they are all well aware of their condition? Did the husband-to-be, Justine's sister and her sisters husband contract some rare form of amnesia that kicked in while planning this ridiculously expensive, sumptuous event, for someone who they know will not act accordingly in that social situation thereby ruining the night for the rest of the dickheads they invited to the wedding? Justine's husband ends up leaving her. Surprised? As an audience member, I certainly was. He has been with this girl long enough to marry her, yet on her wedding night when her condition gets the best of her, he leaves her. Didn't see that one coming I guess? Well done!
Then we have Justine, who's depression is seeping through her fake smile, wandering around committing random acts of weirdness and debauchery. This whole "Adventures of Justine" section is a little more tolerable than the rest of wedding scenes. When Justine is alone is when the film is at its best. But even this section of the film is filled with acts so utterly random, I could not link them with any over-arching meaning. Maybe by the time I got to this portion of the film, I was so put off by the rest of the cast of characters that I was not trying hard enough.
It doesn't help that the cast is populated with actors I truly love:
 |
| John Hurt - Asshole |
 |
| Stellan Skaarsgard - Asshole |
 |
| Udo Kier - Wtf! Awesome! But still an asshole! |
These acts of douche-baggery are completely unexplained, and kept me in a constant state of what-the-fuck-idness for the entire duration of the first part. Populating your world with unintelligent and generally unlikable people doesn't make you dread the end of the world, it makes you welcome it. That being said, films do not need to be populated with likable characters. Indeed, some of the most effective films and television series pride themselves on having distinctly unscrupulous lead characters. But the difference there is they humanize them to the point that the audience is always fascinated by them. Tony Soprano, and almost every character in Game of Thrones are clear examples of this. That connection between film and audience is completely missing here.
Immediately following the ridiculous first half of this film is the tale of Justine's sister and how she copes with the giant blue thing that is going to smash the little blue thing we live on. I feel that this half of the film could stand on its own. While it would still be mechanical in plot and delivery, it would have much less of an uphill battle to fight courtesy of the Part 1wedding segment ("Fuck you very much Part 1!" - Part 2). There are a few unintentional laughs to be found in the second part. Specifically when Justine's sister cannot start any of the family's vehicles and dramatically goes off camera only to drive back into frame in a golf cart. There seemed to be some unintentional tension built while leading up to this specific moment that contributed to what I thought was a rather comedic punchline. I felt she could have easily came out on a skateboard or a unicycle, and the scene would not have lost any of it's comedic potency. Despite this, the second segment was effective, and the film's score and cinematography were outstanding. The end of the world has never looked or sounded more beautiful.
Melancholia tried my patience as a viewer. It seemed to try hard to make the audience not care. I nearly broke my two cardinal rules:
1) Walked out of the theater
2) Hate a movie
It takes a special type of film to even get me to approach breaking either of those two rules. I felt much like Justine, numb to the world established by the film. But who could blame her? Therein lies the potential genius of the film. Maybe the director intended to impose on the audience a feeling of complete... well... melancholy. For me at least, the film definitely succeeded.
When the big blue ball smashed our earth, others in the audience were sombre. I threw both hands in the air in celebration for one simple reason:
No. Sequel.
